One Step At A Time
by EagleStrike1
Summary: Lily and James are slowly figuring out their feelings for each other. But things are never simple when a Marauder is involved. (Lily and James POV)
1. Apology

Lily Evans sat in the Gryffindor common room beside the fireplace. The fire was crackling merrily and the castle was filled to the brim with Christmas decorations. It was nearly dawn of Christmas eve. The common room was pretty much empty, almost all of the students had gone home for the holidays. Not that there would be too many students awake at- 3 in the morning, she thought to herself as she checked her watch. Lily liked the peace and quiet. She could finally get her assignments done without any disturbances. Her friends were still sleeping in the dorm. She finished the last paragraph of her Potions essay( _Describe the use of Mediterranean herbs in the making of healing potions)_ with haste. She had been awake all night and wanted to go to bed. She got up slowly, popping her fingers and yawning. With a flick of her wand, the parchment folded itself and flew inside her bag. She was about to head up when the portrait slid open and James Potter walked, no strutted inside the common room. A year ago, Potter's appearance would have made her anxious and irritated. She hated the ever-present arrogant smug on his face. But that was last year.

James had, well, changed. Lily had to admit it to herself begrudgingly. After the incident in the lake last year Potter hadn't looked her in the eye. She occasionally caught him staring at her, but he quickly averted his eyes. This behavior had been quite unnerving. She had even tried to talk to him a couple of times. James had simply made excuses and avoided her. She felt herself yanked back to reality as Potter smiled at her and walked up to her. He sat down beside her in a comfy chair. He spread his long legs and looked up at her once again.

"Hi Evans. Up so early?"

"I haven't slept all night. I was just about to head up, get some sleep."

James snorted and replied,

"You just don't want to deal with me right now do you? It's okay. I won't bother you."

Lily blushed uncharacteristically and replied,

"No! I really haven't slept all night."

Lily was sure James had muttered "Sure" in a quiet voice. She shook her head and turned around to leave.

"Evans?"

"Hmm?"

She turned around and looked at him. He gestured her to take the seat beside him. She sat down and looked at him, an inquiring look in her face.

"I- I wanted to apologize. About what happened by the lake last year. I really shouldn't have..."

His voice trailed off as he looked at her with genuine concern. Lily scrutinized him. Potter had never, ever apologized to her before. She wondered if he was messing with her. Her doubts vanished when she saw the look on his face. She smiled quietly and replied,

"Is that why you've been avoiding me all this time? Because you felt, what, ashamed?"

He nodded and added a weak smile. Lily didn't know what to say. Of all the scenarios in her head that involved Potter apologizing to her, she had never imagined Potter admitting to her that he was ashamed of his actions. She started to speak and paused, gathering words to say. She started and stopped again. James arched his eyebrows at her. Finally, she managed to utter a single phrase.

"It's okay."

James pondered over her reply for a while. He nodded slowly and turned around to face the fire, a small smile in his lips.

Sleep can wait, she thought to herself as she felt her cheeks redden. She too turned at the fire, enjoying it's warmth.

* * *

 **Hi! This is my first HP fanfiction. Tell me what you guys think. Leave reviews. I'll be writing longer chapters now on wards and the Marauders will come into big play after this. Thanks!**


	2. So, friends?

Christmas morning was cold. James and the Marauders unwrapped their presents. He thanked his friends for the gifts they had gotten him. Sirius had given James an expensive looking watch which was a massive step-up from last year's gift; a banana since Sirius had gotten drunk and forgotten to buy presents. Remus got James a weird looking ring that he swore would transfigure the wearer into the person in it's closest proximity when twisted. Peter had gotten James a book about Quidditch. James himself had gotten Sirius a pack of gum that would erase all traces of a hangover and sober up the person who was chewing it. Sirius thanked him and popped one. Remus laughed as he unwrapped the present James had gotten him; a scarf made of werewolf fur. Peter thanked James excitedly as he unwrapped a huge slab of Honeydukes Chocolate. Talking excitedly about their presents, they made their way towards the Great Hall.

The students that had stayed behind joined the teachers for breakfast and they all ate quietly. Dumbledore attempted to engage the students in conversation but the Gryffindors and Slytherins ignored each other as they hastily shoved down breakfast and left. After finishing breakfast the Marauders left for the Quidditch pitch. James stayed behind with Sirius and Remus as Peter flew around the pitch in James's Cleansweep 5. They laughed heartily as Peter crashed in the highest hoop and left the pitch only when Peter crashed again and had a concussion. Sirius was re-enacting Peter's crash every time Peter began to say anything. Remus stayed behind with Peter to help him with some assignments. Sirius mentioned something about meeting a girl and left in a hurry. James wondered for a while if Sirius was hiding something from him. Usually when it came to girls, Sirius was not one to shy away. He was often known to brag and provide unwanted details about his endeavors. Then again maybe James was overthinking it. Sirius had changed a lot since he had left his home and started to live with him. Bored of listening to Remus drone about Goblin rebellions, James decided to pay a visit to The Hog's Head. He slid out of the portrait and bumped into Lily.

She smiled at him awkwardly. James hadn't forgotten their conversation last night. He smiled back.

"Hi Evans."

"Hi. Where are you headed?"

"The Hog-"

James stopped short as Lily looked at him suspiciously.

"The hog's head?"

She asked him quietly. James thought about lying and telling her 'The Hogwarts Library' but decided against it. He simply nodded. Evans hesitated and replied.

"Can I go with you?"

James looked at her with an expression of shock and disbelief. She merely shrugged.

* * *

"Evans, are you drunk?"

"No, why?

"It's just- you're outside Hogwarts and breaking rules. It's simply not like you. Are you okay?"

James saw her hesitate for a second. She took a swig of Butterbeer and replied.

"I'm just exhausted."

Her reply was short and James got to the hint. She didn't want to talk about it. Deciding to steer the conversation towards something more comfortable, he started grasping for random topics but found it more and more awkward as her replies got more and more shorter. Finally James gave up. Lily seemed to notice that James had gone quiet.

"What's wrong? You're quiet."

"Nothing. You just didn't seem too into the conversation. It's actually quite insulting. Girls usually find my conversations interesting. I swear to god this one time I just said random words and laughed and this Hufflepuff girl laughed along with me. "

He gave her a tight smile as he finished. Lily laughed. James felt like his insides were melting. He loved hearing her laugh. It was a melodious and soothing laugh. Lily took another swig and replied.

"I'm sorry if I seem distracted. It's just some stuff that's going on in my family."

"You want to talk about it?"

James asked uncertainly. He had spoken to her for the first time in several months last night. He wasn't sure of how she would react. Lily hesitated again. James spoke before she could.

"Look, Evans. It's fine if you don't want to talk about it. Honestly, I wouldn't expect you to just tell me the things on your mind. I've never acted like I cared about your feelings before. But I just wanted you to know that I do care about you. And if you feel like talking to me, you can. Because I want to be friends with you, if you let me. Besides, I'm great at listening to people. My mother's a healer at St. Mungo's. I often go down there and listen to patients ramble on. I'm not sure they see or realize I'm there though. They are usually inside the psychiatric ward."

Lily giggled and emptied the mug. She stared at him in the eyes for a second and James felt hot. It was nothing to do with the Firewhisky the barman had discreetly put in his drink. She smiled at him and extended her hands saying,

"So, friends?"

James shook her hand and smiled broadly at her. They spent the rest of the evening talking. Lily never did get to talking about her family problems but James didn't mind. These things took time. And he was more than ready to wait. After all, it was Lily Evans.

* * *

 **Hi guys! So I've decided that the chapters will switch between Lily and James POV. Maybe even a Marauder POV chapter in the future. Anyways, I really want to give James and Lily a proper backstory before taking the story forward. Tell me what you think. If i get favorable reviews, i will write longer stories and post them faster. Cheers!**


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